Banana:
The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World

Dan Koeppel

Banana is a lively history of the cultivation and politics of the
banana. As the subtitle suggests, it is a popular account, but Koeppel
avoids personal travel stories and keeps the biographical material
focused. (There are occasional exceptions, as when we learn about the
weather during Koeppel's visit to "the world capital of banana research"
in Leuven, or about the later life of deposed Guatemalan leader Jacobo
Arbenz.)

Koeppel begins with the origins and domestication of the banana —
what we eat is actually the berry of a giant herb rather than the fruit
of a tree — in an arc from New Guinea through Southeast Asia. And he
describes its spread to Asia, the Pacific, Africa, and the Americas.

Most of Banana covers more recent events, with a chronological narrative
that emphasizes two interlaced and connected strands. The first is
the growth of North American banana companies such as the United Fruit
Company and Dole, starting with the first large banana shipments in 1870.
Koeppel describes their role in Central American politics, most notably
in the Guatemalan coup of 1954, and their domestic politics and the
colourful businessmen involved with them.

The second strand is the history of key banana varieties and attempts
to breed new ones — difficult because a commercially successful banana
needs to be seedless. Panama Disease, caused by a fungus, forced the
replacement of the Gros Michel variety by the Cavendish, which is itself
vulnerable because of low genetic diversity. (Koeppel perhaps overdoes
the "impending doom" angle a little here, not by exaggerating the danger,
but by bringing up the same dangers in different chapters.) This includes
biographical snippets about scientists who have worked in banana breeding.

Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World is a lively and
informative history, recommended to anyone curious about the political and
agricultural background to one of the world's most important food plants.